1. Field of the Invention
Exemplary aspects of the present invention relate to an image forming apparatus, a process cartridge, and a lubricant applicator, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus, a process cartridge, and a lubricant applicator for applying a lubricant on a surface of a photoconductor.
2. Description of the Related Art
A related art image forming apparatus, such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, a printer, or a multifunction printer having copying, printing, scanning, and facsimile functions, forms an electrostatic latent image on a photoconductor according to image data. The electrostatic latent image is developed with a developer (e.g., a toner) to form a toner image on the photoconductor. The toner image is transferred from the photoconductor onto an intermediate transfer member and is further transferred onto a recording medium (e.g., a sheet). A fixing unit applies heat and pressure to the sheet bearing the toner image to fix the toner image on the sheet. Thus, the toner image is formed on the sheet.
After the toner image formed on the photoconductor is transferred onto the intermediate transfer member, a brush roller applies a solid lubricant to the surface of the photoconductor. For example, a spring applies pressure to the solid lubricant toward the brush roller. The brush roller scrapes the solid lubricant and applies the scraped solid lubricant to the surface of the photoconductor. The spring may preferably have a small spring constant, so that the pressure applied to the solid lubricant does not substantially vary.
One example of the spring having a small spring constant has an ellipse shape so as to occupy less space. The spring is attached to a holder for holding the solid lubricant. However, the spring may not be easily attached when the inner diameter of the spring varies.